Vanessa Paradis: Love hurts and burns

French actress Vanessa Paradis says the term soulmates scares her a lot.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Paradis and Johnny Depp, her partner of 14 years, were experiencing difficulties in their relationship. Paradis told Stylist magazine what she thinks about the idea of soulmates.

"I have a problem with the term soulmates, it scares me a lot," she told the magazine. "It's such a strong statement - it's like a marriage contract. I believe in love, and I want to believe that it lasts forever.

"But I'm like everyone else, you have to take things a day at a time and you can never know what comes next. All you can do is hope and love and live.

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"When you say, 'This is my soulmate,' it's almost like saying, 'Well, OK, we're done here then,' That's why I don't really like to use that term, but I understand it."

Her new film Cafe de Flore explores the theme of love, and the 39-year-old thinks audiences will identify with its strong messages.

"Definitely. It's everything that drives us universally. What love makes us do, what love makes us feel, what we do for love and what we do because of love - completely," she said.

"Love hurts and burns. This is why it's so powerful - it's such a universal feeling. Everyone knows it."

Paradis and Depp have two children together, daughter Lily-Rose and son Jack.

10 comments

She is a gorgeous looking woman, I admire her style. I also agree with her comments regarding love. She seems very unpretentious.

Commenter

dianav

Location

Perth

Date and time

May 10, 2012, 4:14PM

if it is hurting and burning, I suggest you see a doctor.

Commenter

lin

Location

melb

Date and time

May 10, 2012, 5:07PM

@dianav

I agree with her taste in men.

Commenter

gelk

Date and time

May 10, 2012, 5:14PM

eek, can't stand her smile. i've tried, just not possible.

Commenter

Ankh

Date and time

May 10, 2012, 11:42PM

dunno about the soulmate thingie, but with the burning some antibiotics might help

Commenter

dropBear

Location

up a gum tree

Date and time

May 11, 2012, 7:46AM

The title makes it sound like she has ghonorea...

Commenter

Doctor

Location

Sydney

Date and time

May 11, 2012, 8:14AM

In my experience, its usually the people walking around talking about "soul mates" that experience the most relationship problems.

That's because when you say that somebody is your soul mate, it tends to mean that you think all the heavy lifting in the relationship is done by something other than yourself.

Relationships require maintence, committment and sometimes hard work. And even then, there are no guarantees.

Commenter

Bug

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

May 11, 2012, 9:19AM

Very classy lady. It must be hard to keep things under wraps when the public wants to know what has happened between them. She doesn't seem like the actor who has chased notoriety. Perhaps her 'partner' loves the good life and is unbearable to live with. Whether you marry, live together as soul mates, de facto, whatever - you still need to work at it and if it truly doesn't work then make the tough call. It must be all the more challenging in the spotlight.

Commenter

Barbara

Location

Bankworld

Date and time

May 11, 2012, 10:19AM

Soooo are she and Johnny still together? There were reports that Johnny was dating an Olsen twin!

Commenter

April

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

May 11, 2012, 12:42PM

Imagine sleeping in the same bed with that filthy pig Johnny Depp who once admitted that he wash himself once a month or less.